Black Friday 2016 US: guitar, amp and drum deals – Rock edition

It’s the time of year all musicians wait for: Black Friday. In 2016 the deals are as ridiculous as ever. I’m sure you have better things to do than scroll through thousands of listings though, so we’ve compiled the very best Black Friday deals for electric guitars, amps and drums for you in one place. The drums are split into electronic drum kits and acoustic kits. Much of the gear here can be used to play any genre but there’s no shortage of rock and metal-equipped set-ups here, so that’s our theme for the day.

This article is for US buyers. For US consumer audio Black Friday deals, head over to our Amazon deals page here. UK buyers have been looked after too with special features on gaming deals (here) and wireless headphones sales (here). Don’t forget to check back in later on the weekend for our Cyber Monday coverage.

Black Friday 2016: US electric guitar deals

Wylde Audio Viking Electric Guitar (Black Pinstripes)

Wylde Audio Viking

This Flying V style guitar is one of the selections from Ozzy shredder Zakk Wylde’s Wylde Audio range. The EMG 85/81 loaded guitar has a solid mahogany body with a three-piece maple neck. Only the Black Pinstripes version is being sold at this price.

G&L Tribute Ascari GTS Electric Guitar (Transparent Black)

GL Tribute Ascari GTS

The Ascari GTS was inspired by a lost prototype drawn three decades ago by G&L co-founder George Fullerton. The unique design features Gagon coil-tapping humbuckers, a maple flame top, mahogany body and a maple neck.

Fender Special Edition ’50s Stratocaster Electric Guitar

Fender Special Edition 50s strat

This Strat is part of Fender’s ’50s and ’60 vintage reissue series and has original-spec parts from that era. The guitar has a maple neck with a soft V profile and small headstock and 21 vintage-style frets. There’s a few colour options but only Apple Green attracts the $155 saving.

Fender Special Edition Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar

Fender HSS Special Edition strat.

If vintage ain’t your thang and you’d rather have a beefed up Strat, this could be the guitar for you. This Special Edition has humbucker in the bridge for all your rock needs complemented by two single coils. It’s rounded out by an alder body, rosewood fretboard and C-shape maple neck.

Epiphone Les Paul Special-I Electric Guitar

Les Paul Limited Edition Special

My first guitar was an Epiphone and deals like this one are the reason why. The company know how to put together an affordable riff stick. This limited edition Les Paul has a bolt-on mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, basswood body and a pair of Epiphone humbuckers. The Worn Black version also attracts a $70 saving.

Squier Bullet Stratocaster SSS Electric Guitar

Fender Squier Bullet Strat SSS.

Here’s another one for the beginner guitarist. What better way to start channelling your inner Hendrix or Gilmour than with a Strat? This particular Strat has a maple neck, maple fingerboard and basswood body. Three single coil pick-ups are featured along with 21 medium jumbo frets.

Jackson Special Edition JS32RM Rhoads Electric Guitar (Black and red)

Jackson Special JS32 Electric Guitar

This Flying V style axe has everything you need to get teh metals pumping on a budget. It features a pair of high output ceramic-magnet humbuckers, a graphite reinforced maple neck, 24 jumbo frets, Jackson double-locking tremolo system and a basswood body (well they gotta keep the price down somehow).

Black Friday US: Best amp deals

Blackstar ID:Core 40W Stereo Guitar Combo Amp

Blackstar id:core 40w

Blackstar’s ID:Core amps were already a bargain but this deal is something else. The 40-watt solid state amp has two 6.5″ speakers. There’s a total of six channels and 12 effects, including 3x modulation, 3x delay and 3x reverb effects

DV Mark Bad Boy 120 120W Tube Guitar Amp Head

DV Mark Bad Boy 120 120w

You better snap this one up quickly before Guitar Centre come to their senses. You don’t see high end amps reduced to less than half price very often. This all tube amp head is made in Italy and has three separate preamps. Each channel’s gain affects your tone in a unique way. The amp is powered by four ECC83 preamp tubes and the power amp has two KT88 and a single ECC83 tube.

Marshall Custom Tattoo 1×10 Phil Kyle Guitar Cabinet Black

Marshall Phil Kyle Cab

Marshall is a household name for a reason. This 15-watt cab packs plenty of punch thanks to the 1×10 Celestion G10F-15 speaker. Magnum Opus Tattoo artist Phil Kyle provided the distinctive artwork for the unit.

Jet City Amplification JCA2212C 20W 1×12 Tube Guitar Combo

Jet-City Jca221c

Here’s another ludicrous deal at 50 per cent off. This amp is the combo version of the JCA22H. Its two foot-switchable pedals will take from you clean and jangly right into high gain. It’s loaded with a 12″ Jet City Custom Eminence speaker.

Jet City Amplification 100HDM 100W/50W Tube Guitar Amp

Jet-City-J10352 100hdm

This 100-watt monster is selling for close to half price. No one ever needs a 100-watt amp running hot all the time, so Jet City have sensibly featured a 50-watt mode here as well. The two channel amp is powered by five 12AX7 preamp tubes and four 6L6 power tubes

Orange Amplifiers Tiny Terror 15W 1×12 Tube Guitar Combo Amp

Tiny Terror TT15C

Orange Amps are beautiful things but they can be a bit pricey. Not with this deal though. This limited edition Tiny Terror combo is paired with a Celestion 1×12 Greenback speaker. The result is a distinctive combination of vintage sparkle and a solid modern low-end. The 15-watt amp can be switched to 7-watt operation.

Yamaha DTX430K Electronic Drum Set

Yamaha Dtx430k

Yamaha really know their stuff when it comes to electronic drum kits – I know because I use mine almost every day. This model has 169 drum and percussion sounds with 10 customisable kits. There’s five drum pads and three cymbals, all of which are held together with a steel rack.

Akai Professional Tom Cat Analog Drum Machine

Akai Professional Tom Cat

This is one mean kitty. The Tom Cat analog drum machine has five percussion voices including Kick, Snare, Clap, and chromatically tuneable Disco Toms. Akai have included a 32-step sequencer, six MPC-style pads and a gate trigger I/O for triggering sequences via external sound sources.

Acoustic drum kits

Gretsch Drums Energy 5-Piece Drum Set with Hardware

Gretsch Drums Energy

A $200 saving is a good reason to upgrade from that starter kit to the Energy kit. This five-piece kit has 7-ply poplar shells with 1.6mm triple-flange hoops and Remo heads. The set includes a bass drum pedal and the following stands: Hi-hat, snare, boom cymbal and straight cymbal.

Mapex Voyager Standard Drum Set

Mapex Voyager Standard

Mapex know how to put a great kit together for a competitive price – my Mapex is still going strong with 12 years of hard use under its belt. This five-piece kit has all-poplar shells, 1.5mm hoops and Remo heads. Included in the set is stands, throne and pedals.

Pulse 5-Piece Junior Drum Set

Pulse 5-piece Junior

Now’s a great time to snap up a deal on a junior drum kit, with Christmas now just a month away. This kit will get the next little John Bonham on his way with an included kick pedal, throne, stands and a 12″ crash and 10″ hi-hats.

Ddrum Paladin Maple Fusion 5-Piece Shell Pack Vintage Coral Sparkle

Ddrum Paladin Maple Fusion

If you’re serious about your playing it’s no good bashing around on a starter kit. The Ddrum Paladin Maple Fusion five-piece could be your step up to something more serious. The snare and bass drum feature eight plies of blended maple and poplar, while the toms are 100 per cent maple. The blend is designed to provide a mix of attack and low end.